Thursday, August 30

'Every man is struck down among his people in the morning,when death is closer than the strap of his sandal.'

(Al Adab Al Mufrad: Imam Bukhari)

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:Allah, the Lord of honour and glory, will accept the repentance of His servant till his death-rattle begins.(Tirmidhi)

SubhanAllah the month of Ramadhan is merely days away, some of us will see it, some of us will not. How many of those who were here last ramadhan remain for the one to come? How many thought they would be here but aren't. We may be here now, and gone tomorrow, so inshaAllah watch the reminder, take heed. Do not sit idle for indeed death is seeking you... [Hasan al-Basri]

Death is close, it waits for no man, take account for yourself before your account is taken.

Wednesday, August 29

Tuesday, August 28

Ramadhan is approx 14 to 15 days away, yes subhanAllah that is only a matter of two weeks... are you ready? Heres some advice to help...May Allah make it easy for us to continue our actions beyond ramadhan inshaAllah and may He help us to make Quran, Qiyam ul Layl, moderation in diet and actions, charity, and correction of character part of our daily conciousness. Ameen.

1. Eat, drink and be moderate

Almost all of us do it - once Iftar time hits, we just keep plowing food and drink into our mouths till it's hard to move afterwards. And those of us who do it know this is totally contrary to the spirit of Ramadan, through which we're supposed to learn self-control not self-indulgence. Let's try to stick to the Prophetic rule on eating: fill our stomachs with one-third food, one-third water and one-third breathing space, even in Ramadan.

2. Give a pound a day in charity...or five or ten

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was always generous but even more so in Ramadan. Let's open our hearts and dig a little deeper in our wallets this year. Even less than a dollar a day adds up. Whatever you can give, it's the intention that counts.

3. Memorize atleast 4 new Surahs

Memorizing the Quran often seems like a daunting task. But the key is doing it in small bites. Since there are four weeks in Ramadan, try to memorize one new Surah a week. Start off with a short, easy one. Once you've started, you'll build momentum and may even want to memorize a longer one the following week.

4. Go to Tarawih prayers (Qiyaam ul Ramadhan)Post-Iftar, the first urge is to sleep after an exhausting day. But try your best to head out to the mosque for Tarawih prayers. Praying alone is wonderful, but doing it in congregation is fantastic. The community spirit is part of Ramadan's blessings. Don't miss it this year. If going every day is not possible, try going at least one week.

5. Attend the Tarawih prayer in which the recitation of the Quran will be finished

Call the local mosque and find out which day the Imam will be finishing the recitation of the Quran in prayer. Attend to not only hear part of the Quran's recitation in prayer, but also participate in the heart-rending Duas that follow it.

6. Stop swearing and/or backbiting

With a special box It's hard not to shoot our mouths off when someone's upset us. Whether we utter those four-letter words or backbite about someone to our family and friends, we know this isn't the God-approved way of letting off steam. In Ramadan, when we want to build our spirituality, we've got to wage Jihad against our bad habits. Try this: get a box and every time you catch yourself swearing or backbiting put some money in it. It could be a buck or less. The point is to choose an amount that makes it feel like punishment. At the end of the month send the money to a charity or buy a gift for the person whom you've backbitten the most against.

7. Call/email your relatives

You'd think that given the easy access to email, competitive long-distance calling rates, phone cards, etc. these days, we'd keep in touch with family and friends more often. But the opposite seems to be the case, as we get caught up in life's "busy'ness." Strengthening ties with family members and keeping in touch with friends is part of our way of life and an act Allah is very pleased with. This Ramadan, call family and friends or at least email them a Ramadan card and ask them how their fasting is going.

8. Go on a technology diet

Even if you work in the IT industry, you can do this. Avoid checking personal email and surfing the web during your fast. After Iftar, instead of plopping yourself in front of the screen, go to Tarawih. The same goes for the television. The point is to try to give our full attention to spiritual elevation this month.

9. Read 5 minutes of Quran a day...and reflect insha'Allaah

Even if you feel you've got absolutely no time, set a timer or the alarm on your cell phone and find a relatively quiet place. You can read the first page of the Quran you open or follow a sequence. The choice is yours. The point is simply to connect with God through His revelation in the month of the Quran.

10. Forgive everyone who has hurt you

Still got a festering wound from the fight with your friend last year? Still upset about something your spouse said during a heated argument? Or are you still bitter about the way your parents sometimes treated you as a kid? Let go of the anger and pain this Ramadan and forgive those who have hurt you. Forgiving someone is not only good for the body, but it's also great for the soul. And in Ramadan, ten days of which are devoted to Allah's forgiveness, shouldn't we lesser beings forgive too? If you find it very difficult to forgive everyone, forgive at least three people.

Saturday, August 25

Noble brothers and sisters, May Allaah guide you to your success, Knowledge is like an ocean with no shore to bound it, it is too much, so you shouldn't even think that you can comprehend it all, But an intelligent person sets the priorities and starts with what is most important. You should start slow but steady, sticking with little yet mastering it is better than getting hands everywhere but not being able to finish anything properly.

If you wish to memorize something then protect it by keep repeating it. Ibn Al-Jawzi mentions a nice story of Al-Haafith Abu Bakr An-Neysaboori,

“Once he was reading out loud and repeating the text over and over to memorize it and one of the ladies in his house said, “I have memorized it by listening to you how come you didn’t memorize it yet?” So he told her to read it and she did. After few days he asked the lady; “Can you repeat the text from that day?” She said, “I have forgotten it.” So he said, “This is the reason why I kept repeating so what has afflicted you (of forgetfulness) will not happen to me.”

Beware of satanic tricks while you are seeking knowledge.

Unfortunately we find many brothers and sisters when they start seeking knowledge they lack focus, commitment, steadiness and concentration. For instance, a person decides to memorize the Quraan, in the beginning s/he seems to be very committed, rather over excited with strong enthusiasm to memorize it all which may not remain the same after few months, illa man Rahima Rabbi.

First you decide to start from juz ‘Amma but after some time you change your mind and start from the beginning (soorah Al-Baqarah) thinking that memorizing in order is better then starting from the end. Behold!! Soon after some time you stop again and decide to memorize the soorah (chapter) which has fadhaa-il or are recommended to read on daily or weekly basis like Soorah Al-Kahf, or Soorah Al-Jumu’ah or the last verses of Soorah Al-Baqarah etc… , so the end result is not getting anything done properly.

Same thing goes when it comes to reading books, person may pick the book of fiqh and after reading few pages thinks that s/he should read books on ‘Aqeedah and then without finishing the book on ‘Aqeedah s/he jumps on to read the books of Ahaadeeth and so on. The end result is that person can’t even finish one book from cover to cover rather is always jumping from one book to another, etc.

So be careful of these obstacles and be firm and committed in your Talab al-ilm (seeking knowledge).